GANGSTER No.1

Directed by Paul McGuigan. Starring Malcolm MacDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany, Saffron Burrows

If not quite the most morally resonant movie ever made, Gangster No.1 could certainly qualify as the most foul-mouthed. Its dialogue drips with Cockney vernacular of the 'YOU FACK-ING CAHNT!' variety, and the film never uses one obscenity when twenty would do - and while it all hangs together perfectly well plotwise, it's difficult to shake the feeling that we've been down this road before.

The pitch: present-day London underworld kingpin Malcolm MacDowell is informed that the infamous 'Butcher of Mayfair' (David Thewlis) is about to be released from prison, prompting him to flashback to 1968 at the height of the Butcher's reign of terror.

At the time, MacDowell's aspiring crook (now played by highly promising Brit debutant Paul Bettany) was a young and eager apprentice on Thewlis' team of unsavoury lowlives, whose total identification with his boss's lifestyle (swish suits, flashy cars) leads him to plot the overthrow of his mentor in crime.

Thus unfolds an intriguing if indefensibly malevolent psychological drama/power-struggle, with vague echoes of what might be described as Shakespeare's darker thrillers (Macbeth, Richard III) and easily the most blood-curdling brutality quotient since the recent Lenny Murphy biopic Resurrection Man. It all culminates in the most mind-searingly horrific finale since Man United won the Champions' League, featuring axes, swords and a variety of formidable metal implementsr.

As accomplished as Gangster No.1 is in its own right, you have to wonder about the mind of anyone who can actually enjoy the thing, so unremittingly brutal is it.

If you like the sound of Gangster No.1, it may be worth giving it a look - but if it's feelgood fun you're after, stick to your Freddy Krueger collection.